Why be a Christian?

Why would anyone become a Christian? This is a legitimate question and one which many people have struggled with throughout the ages. What makes a Christian different than someone of any other religion? In the paragraphs which follow it should become clear why someone would want to become a Christian as opposed to becoming a follower of some other religion, or, no religion at all.

People must approach life with a desire to seek out truth and an open mind to honestly judge the truth value of what is real. Truth is here defined as that which corresponds to reality and that reality is that which is perceived by all people, not any given individual's perception of truth. For example, if any person can, through their senses, determine that the computer you are viewing this on exists then it is real and it exists in truth. A Christian must also be someone who will seek truth in reality.

In a search for the truth, one must realize that if there is no source of truth which is larger than the universe itself then there can be no truth shared by all people in the universe. In other words, if there is no source of truth bigger than the universe then all truth is merely that which can be perceived by any given individual or group of individuals. The belief that there is no truth larger than the universe itself is the philosophical system known as relativism. If everything is relative then all of society and all of life falls apart because there is no basis for ethics, morality or cooperation between human beings. What may be true for one person may not be true for me. Taken to an extreme this philosophy decays all of society because there is no means for stating that any action is right or wrong. A person can kill if they so desire because it is true for them.

As people searching for truth with an open mind, we must conclude that there is a source of truth which is bigger than the universe and which gives meaning to all of life. This source of truth must also be personal. We know the source of all truth to be personal because the universe in which we live had a beginning. Having a beginning, the universe must have been caused because it obviously had a starting point. If the universe had a beginning it must have had either a personal or impersonal cause. Since there is no such thing as spontaneous generation (an impersonal cause) the universe must have had a cause which is personal. This personal source for the universe and the truth within it is God Himself.

If God exists and if He gives meaning to the universe then we as His creatures must submit ourselves to him. Fortunately, we have not been left groping in the dark for information about this God, as some would claim. Instead we have the Bible, a book which claims within itself to be the truth of God. If this is the case we must also question the Bible in our search for the truth. If the Bible, which claims to speak to us of realities beyond this world, is true then it must be internally consistent and unable to make any mistakes. If there are any inconsistencies in the Bible concerning the truth of this world then how can we trust it to tell us the truth about worlds of which we do not know. Therefore, the Bible must be open to scrutiny to prove its trustworthiness. As those seeking truth with an open mind, we have examined the Bible and found it to be perfect and without error. Therefore, since it has no errors we read it as the source of all truth and study it to learn what we must know about both God and life on earth.

With the Bible as our guide for life and morality we know how we must submit to God and how we must act in order to live a life that pleases him. In the Bible we read that mankind has chosen to separate themselves from God because we humans have failed to meet His standard of behavior and conduct (Romans 3:23, Isaiah 59:2). This failure is called "sin" because of the Old English archery term. In archery contests if an archer failed to hit the mark the judge of the contest would yell out "sin". Thus, whenever we sin we fall short of God's standard for us -- perfection (Matthew 5:48).

Since no one is perfect morally we seem to have no hope. In fact, we as humans could not rectify this situation, no more than a drowning man can save himself by pulling on his hair to lift himself out of the water. Yet, God extended mercy to us by making a way for us to be saved out of this situation (1 John 4:9-10).

What is this way out of our predicament? First, we must understand that the offer of reconciliation with God is extended to us as a gift (Romans 6:23). A gift must be accepted for it to be of any use -- otherwise it remains a perpetual offer. A gift cannot be earned because then the gift is no longer a gift -- it becomes wages for a job done (Ephesians 2:8-9). We must approach God individually in humility to accept the gift God is offering to us.

To accept the gift of reconciliation that God offers us we must understand that we are imperfect sinners who cannot save ourselves (Romans 3:23). Also, we must understand that God, as the determiner of all truth and morality, is just and true. As sinners, unless we reconcile ourselves with God then we will die in our state of sinfulness and will be punished eternally (because our offenses are against an eternal God) as the just treatment for our state of sin. Yet, while God is just and must punish us for our sins He is also merciful and has extended to us the gift of salvation.

The means by which we accept the gift of salvation is through faith in what the Bible says concerning the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus is unique in that he was 100% human while at the same time 100% God (John 1:1, 1:14). The two natures of humanity and divinity come together in hypostatic union (meaning that it was not God inside of a man, or, some melding of God and man into one morphic "man-looking God", but God and man placed together in the person of Jesus Christ). Jesus was perfect as both the representative of God to man and of man to God because he had both natures in their entirety. However, sinful men in their greed and evil put Jesus to death, not realizing that his death served as the perfect sacrifice to reconcile God to man and man to God (Isaiah 53:4, 53:6, 53:10) (1 Peter 2:24).

In order to accept the gift of salvation you must believe that Jesus Christ died in your place as the payment for your sins and you must place faith in that truth (Ephesians 2:8). Faith is not merely mentally accepting the truth of a statement but also acting upon the truth. For example consider the illustration of a wooden chair. You look at a chair and evaluate it to see if in your judgment it will support you without collapsing. However, merely knowing that the chair will hold you is not the same as sitting in the chair (which is the only way you will know if your assessment is correct). The only way you will know the truth is if you take action and actually sit in the chair. Likewise, to know that Jesus died to save you from your sins is not good enough because you must also act by appropriating this for yourself.

Are you willing to appropriate this gift of salvation for yourself? Are you willing to place your faith in Jesus Christ and what he has done to reconcile you with God? If you are simply pray to God and admit to him that you are a sinner and that you cannot save yourself from your sins against Him and that you want to accept the gift of salvation which He freely offers to you.

If you have made a decision to accept Jesus then please e-mail us and share the good news with us. When you do, please tell us how we can help you to learn more about the decision you have made. If you do not decide to accept the gift of salvation now, please consider this message and seek the truth that has been presented to you, keeping in mind that you must make a decision before your life is over lest you suffer the just punishment for your moral failure before God.

Do you know for sure?

• God's promise: Heaven is a FREE GIFT! It is not earned or deserved (Romans 6:23).
• My problem: We are sinners and cannot save ourselves (Romans 3:23).
• God's perfection: God is merciful and does not want to punish us, but He is also just and holy and thus must punish sin. (Romans 3:25-26).
• God's provision: Christ came to earth as a man, dies to pay the penalty for our sin, and then rose again from the dead to purchase a place in heaven for all who trust Him (Romans 5:6-8).
• My response: We receive eternal life by repentance and faith; that is, we turn from our sin and turn to Jesus Christ, God's provision for sinners (Romans 10:9-13).